Work & commute · Colfax

Work & commute in Colfax, IA

Most working residents leave Colfax for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (24%), West Des Moines (6%) and Ankeny (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

55 of 1,037 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 982 Colfax residents head out of town to work, 55 work right here, and 272 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Colfax.

982live here, work elsewhere

55live and work here

272work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Colfax goes to work

Des Moines20.7 mi away

24%245

West Des Moines29.6 mi away

6%67

Ankeny19.2 mi away

6%63

Colfax (in town)right here

5%55

Altoona12.7 mi away

5%51

Urbandale28.2 mi away

4%44

Prairie City5.8 mi away

4%39

Johnston25.2 mi away

3%32

Newton10.2 mi away

3%29

Ames31.1 mi away

3%28

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%384

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Colfax commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

12%

50%

27%

11%

12%Under 10 mi

50%10–24 mi

27%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Colfax is a commuter town

0.32jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.32 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Colfax are

327 jobs are based in Colfax. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Colfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Colfax

327 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less30%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month35%

Jobs Colfax residents hold

1,037 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+4%

Jobs based in Colfax, 2013 → 2023: 314 → 327. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.